PERTH :After recent speculations suggested that all-rounderMohammad Hafeez is performing well to takeover captaincy from Azhar Ali, the stand-in captain has cleared the air by saying that Azhar Ali is the ODI captain and whole team awaits his comeback from injury.
Pakistan registered a historic win over Australia in the second ODI, their first on Australian soil after 12 years. Mohammad Hafeez was playing the match as a stand-in captain and he was credited for some sharp decisions in the field which marked victory.
Moreover, Azhar Ali has been criticized a lot lately for his wrong field positioning and captaincy choices. His hamstring injury during the first match gave a chance to Hafeez who was made stand-in captain though he was not even in the original ODI squad.
According to media reports, Hafeez has signaled that he and the rest of the team believe in Azhar Ali as Pakistani captain who is still improving his leadership skills. The 36-year-old all-rounder hoped for speedy recovery of Azhar Ali. He aims that Pakistan will play aggressive cricket against Australia at Perth for a consecutive victory.
He credited the whole team for Melbourne victory and praised the amazing comeback made by pacer Junaid Khan who took two important wickets for 40 runs against Aussies.
Mohammad Hafeez had scored 72 runs while chasing the target of 221 against the Kangaroos in 2nd ODI for which he received Man of the Match award.
Pakistan is all set to face Australia in third ODI tomorrow at Perth.